KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Bursa Malaysia reversed earlier gains to record losses at mid-morning, dragged down by profit-taking in Hartalega and several other index-linked counters.
At 11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 0.64 of-a-point to 1,577.21 from Tuesday’s close of 1,577.42.
Hartalega lost 40 sen to RM17.16 after 4.55 million shares changed hands.
On the broader market, gainers and losers were almost equal at 434 and 438, while 367 counters were unchanged, 772 untraded and 24 others suspended.
Trading volume stood at 4.16 billion shares worth RM3.26 billion.
Nevertheless, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI improved by 17 points to close at around the 1,580 mark yesterday due to some late buying on glove counters.
“In view of this, we believe the buying momentum would continue today with the benchmark index possibly testing the 1,590 level again,” it said in a note.
Other rubber glove-related shares included Top Glove, which increased 48 sen to RM26.56, Kossan eased 18 sen to RM15.82, while Supermax bagged eight sen to RM20.88.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank added one sen to RM7.64, but Public Bank fell 16 sen to RM17.50, Tenaga eased 10 sen to RM11.06, and Petronas Chemicals shed five sen to RM6.10.
Among the most actives, XOX, Vsolar, EA Holdings, Borneo Oil, Sapura Energy, and Lambo were all flat at 19 sen, 5.5 sen, 3.5 sen, 6.5 sen, 12.5 and 5.0 sen, respectively. Notion added seven sen to RM1.60.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slipped 0.18 of-a-point to 11,295.67, the FBMT 100 Index shed 2.76 points to 11,115.26 and the FBM ACE erased 113.87 points to 10,324.36.
However, the FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 27.87 points to 13,262.95 and the FBM 70 added 3.39 points to 14,503.83.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index rose 26.88 points to 7,033.64, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.03 of-a-point to 141.04, while the Financial Services Index gave up 39.01 points for 13,138.11. — Bernama
